Published 4:00 am, Thursday, November 16, 1995

1995-11-16 04:00:00 PDT CALIFORNIA; UNITED STATES -- Yosemite National Park, usually the source of concern because it has too many visitors, was getting back to nature Thursday.

So were the nation's 368 other national parks, monuments, military parks and other historical sites, marking the first time since the National Park Service was created in 1916 that all of its units were shut down at the same time.

How long the parks - the latest victims of the budget impasse in Washington, D.C. - would stay closed was anybody's guess. "It looks pretty grim," said National Park Service Ranger Kendall Thompson at Yosemite.

"There's still a few folks around but it's getting pretty quiet," Thompson said as Yosemite, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Death Valley and other national parks closed down in response to an order Wednesday afternoon from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

Not affected - so far - are campgrounds in 191 million acres of national forest land, 20.6 million acres of them in California.

The U.S. Forest Service, a part of the Agriculture Department, is operating under carry-over funds, said spokesman Alan Polk in Washington, D.C. "We expect if this issue is not resolved, we can continue operation up to maybe three weeks . . . then we'll have to re-evaluate," Polk said.

Some 270 million people visit National Park Service facilities each year; they are located in every state except Delaware.

"It's a major endeavor," park spokeswoman Nikyra Calcagno said of the first closure of Yosemite since wildfires forced it shut five years ago.

As of 6 a.m. Thursday, day users were barred from the park, hiking and backpacking were banned and campers were told to leave by noon Friday. Only visitors with confirmed overnight reservations at campgrounds or hotels were being allowed in and then just for the night.

Visitor centers and other public facilities were closed earlier in the week.

And as of 3 p.m. Friday, concessions such as the Ahwahnee Hotel and Yosemite Lodge were to be shuttered. If they stay closed through next week, it would be a blow to such people as Jeff Escabar, owner of the International House of Pancakes in San Rafael.

He and a friend paid $250 in advance a year ago to have Thanksgiving dinner at the fabled Ahwahnee. "I've been looking forward to this for over a year," a disappointed Escabar said Thursday morning. "You know you have to make reservations a year in advance, and pay in advance. I hope they settle it in time."

Guests were being allowed in to the privately owned Wawona and Yosemite West but for accommodations only. Picnic grounds, public restrooms and other facilities were closed.

Highway 120 over Tioga Pass remained open but motorists were advised to pass right on through and not to stop to play or picnic.

Some 386 of the park service's 586 employees already were furloughed and by the weekend, another 500 park service and concession workers were expected to be laid off.

Some Bay Area sites still open&lt;

At Presidio National Park and the GGNRA, the nation's largest urban park, such concessions as the Presidio Golf Course, bowling alley and the Red and White fleet remained open.

"Since we're an urban park, we don't really have the ability to close these concessions," said GGNRA spokeswoman Chris Powell.

But such national tourist attractions as Muir Woods, Alcatraz and Fort Point were closed, as were parking lots, visitors centers and restrooms at such popular spots as Ocean and Baker beaches.

The GGNRA has only a few campsites, most in the Marin Headlands, but they were to be vacated by 3 p.m. Friday, Powell said.

"Because of the nature of the park, we can't keep people out like some other parks can," Powell said, "but the facilities will be closed because there won't be people to take care of them."

That was true elsewhere in the extensive national park system as well. At Pinnacles National Monument, a 16,000-acre wilderness park astride the San Andreas Fault south of Hollister, the ranger staff was cut from 20 to nine and visitors were barred.

At Death Valley, which was just beginning its busiest tourist season, nobody answered the phone.

A last ditch effort to keep the parks open failed Wednesday afternoon when the House of Representatives rejected the latest version of the Interior Department's budget. The Interior Department is the parent agency of National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management, among others.&lt;